Australia and Afghanistan will be fighting with each other in the tenth game of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The game is scheduled to be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Friday (February 28).
The upcoming game is a do-or-die match for Afghanistan. While a win will take them to the semifinals, a defeat will dump them out of the ongoing competition.
For Australia, the scenario is a bit different. While a win will take them to the semifinal too, a defeat will not end their semifinal hopes. If Australia loses against Afghanistan, their fate will depend on the game between South Africa and England. So as Australia and Afghanistan gear up for the huge clash, here is the AFG vs AUS match preview.
AFG vs AUS Match Preview- ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Match 10:
AFG vs AUS, Date and Venue:
The upcoming AFG vs AUS match will be played on Friday (February 28) at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The match will be played from 02:30 PM (IST).
Squads:
Afghanistan:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Ikram Alikhil, Nangeyalia Kharote, Naveed Zadran
Australia:
Matthew Short, Travis Head, Steven Smith(c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis(w), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson, Sean Abbott, Aaron Hardie, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Tanveer Sangha
AFG vs AUS key battles:
Travis Head vs Azmatullah Omarzai:
The battle between Travis Head and Azmatullah Omarzai could very well decide the fate of the upcoming AFG vs AUS game. While Head scored just 6 runs in his last outing, there is no denying that the left-handed batsman can singlehandedly blow teams away on his day.
Head will be keen to bounce back and score big in the must-win clash for his team. And Afghanistan will be looking to get his wicket as early as possible. The Asian outfit will be relying on their ever-reliable allrounder Azmatullah Omarzai for Head’s wicket. The right-arm pacer picked up 5 wickets against England and will be keen to get Head’s prized scalp in the upcoming game.
Glenn Maxwell vs Rashid Khan:
There is no doubt that all eyes will be on Glenn Maxwell if he gets the chance to bat against Afghanistan in the upcoming game. The last time the all-rounder faced Afghanistan in an ODI match, he had played one of the greatest ODI knocks of all time.
Maxwell had scored an unbeaten 201 runs to help Australia recover from 91/7 and chase down 292 in the 2023 World Cup. He will be eyeing another impactful knock against the Asian outfit.
And the onus will be on Afghanistan spin spearhead Rashid Khan to stop Maxwell. Rashid is one of the best spinners in the world and will be keen to ensure that Maxwell does not hurt his team once again.
Ibrahim Zadran vs Ben Dwarshuis:
Ibrahim Zadran is coming into this game on the back of a historic knock against England. The 177 runs that he scored against England earlier this week have made him the record holder for the highest individual scorer in the history of the Champions Trophy.
Zadran is also no stranger to scoring big against Australia. In the last ODI match between the two sides, the right-handed batsman had played a sublime knock of 129 runs.
Australia will be well aware of the threat possessed by Zadran and will be keen to get his wicket as early as possible. They will be hoping that Ben Dwarshuis continues his fine start to the tournament and sends Zadran back as early as possible. The left-arm pacer picked up 3 wickets against England earlier in the tournament and will look to make an impact once again.
AFG vs AUS Key Players:
AFG – Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Rashid Khan will be the key players for Afghanistan.
AUS – Matthew Short, Travis Head, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey, and Adam Zampa will be the key players for Australia.
AFG vs AUS Weather And Pitch Report:
The weather report is a big worry ahead of the AFG vs AUS game. Rain could play spoilsport throughout the game. The weather forecast has predicted a rainy day in Lahore on the match day.
Even if the entire game does not get washed out, the upcoming game will likely lose a good number of overs.
As far as the pitch is concerned, it is expected to favor the batsmen once again. Both the games played at this venue earlier in the tournament were high-scoring games and the upcoming game also promises to be a run-fest.
Conclusion:
The equation is very clear for both teams. Australia and Afghanistan still have their fate in their own hands and a win in the upcoming AFG vs AUS game will take them to the semifinals.
A defeat would dump Afghanistan out of the tournament straightaway while Australia will have to depend on the result of the game between England and South Africa if they end up losing the upcoming contest.